plasma or lcd?

Wanted to give a bit more clarity on how the image is processed in a Full HD / HD ready TV:

How does a TV with FullHD (1080 lines) display a signal of different quality (480p / 480i / 720 p / 720i / 1080i / 1080p). Well, the answer is the image processor.

A panel which is rated at 720p will always display the image at 720p - If it is given a signal of different quality, it "processes" it and makes it to 720p. So, a TV with 720p will take the signal at any resolution (upgrade a 480p / 480i, convert a 720i and downgrade a 1080p / 1080i) signal and make it 720p - It is this conversion that "spoils" the image quality. Though the current day processors are extremely competent, still, they are never going to true to the quality of signal.

If you feed a FullHD TV and a HD ready TV with the standard definition Signal, the HD ready TV might end up giving better results as it will need lesser processing !! On the other hand, a Full HD signal feeded to a FullHD TV and a HD ready TV, the HD ready TV will give an inferior quality image to the FullHD as the image needs to be processed to downgrade it.

With most of the media still stuck at Standard Definition and the herculean task ahead of them to migrate to FullHD, it is probably better to stick to HD ready.

Moreover, as stated before, beyond 6 feet on a 42" television, it doesn't matter if it is HD Ready or Full HD

Both plasma and LCD are bad.

LED is the best. Only Samsung makes them as of now but they are expensive.

thanks prasad,i shall look into panasonic plasmas,but i had also seen a panasonic plasma 42 for 42.5 k,do not know if it's fullhd,short distance viewing is out of compulsion,i already have a 42 samsung rear projection tv and am satisfied with samsung too

you gave out a sea of info on flat pannels,thanks

(also the guy at lg counter was suggesting that if i a buy hdmi dvd player for 3k,it doesnt matter if it's plasma or lcd and also neednt look at the contrast ratio,what did he mean?) 

Yes - LED TVs are better implementations and work on having an individual light souce of am LED (either for each pixel or an array of LEDs which are set in horizontal and vertical lines) - It reduces the scope of leakage through the pixels as in the case of an LCD and thus result in better contrast levels.

Having said that, the cost to manufacture is so high that at no point can it be cheaper than an LCD panel / plasma panel of the same size. Infact the cost of a decent LED is twice the cost of an equivalent plasma - Both Full HD. To start with, with the current day scenario, spurging on FullHD itself is uncalled for !!!

Additionally this is newer technology and the associated problems are yet to surface out - so the risk of investing on them is exceptionally high.

The one available for 42.5K is the same one I have - You can bargain and get it for around 40K - I think the model number is 42PV8D. This is a model that was lauched last year (I bought it a year back). Actually, it is worth every single penny and infact more than that.

LOL - Most Sales persons are paid to do a job - I hope you understand what I mean. I have a Philips DVD player that upgrades DVD to HD and connects through HDMI. But. Plasma on any day will beat the LCD fair and square - even the high end LCDs - Only the LEDs are comparable to the picture quality of a plasma - But then, you will end up paying 2 to 3 times higher the cost and it is newer technology that is yet to settle - problems are still not completely known !!

Contrast Ratios and Response times are leaps ahead on a Plasma when compared to an LCD.

Regards,

K Prasad

thanks a load prasad,

 iam finally convinced to go for a plasma,i will enquire about the model you had mentioned and also compare then with lg and samsung plasmas(G&G magazine has rated samsung plasma costing 55k as no.one!)

also can you suggest me a good home theatre(wireless would be preferable),i listened to a demo of 850wz sony and onkyo,surprisingly,sony was much better,but i didnt need the dvd player that is in the home theatre,so didnt make a purchase,i want to buy HT,just speakers and amplifier for this diwali,i had a good philips model with went bust on a thunderous day 

thanks again(your knowledge is good enough to start a magazine like G&G and what hifi!)

@ bala,

for speaker & amplifier set u can go for yamaha also, its sounds very good & has good quality, even onkyo is good. wats ur budget for home theratre?

for plasma tv look out also for panasonic c10 model number. i think it is newer & better & a latest model.

in which city u live presently?

hi roadster,my budjet for home theatre is 20k,but can raise it

i live near pondicherry

yeah,i will look at the model you have mentioned,my worry about plasma was the burn in phenomena and i also thought that lcd images were brighter in color,but i've almost decided on plasma

Hi Bala,

Home Theaters come in various shapes and sizes. Don't even consider the sound quality that you get on the demo ones in the shops - It is only when you listen the sound at some of your friend's place, you can conclude on something.

Talking about Home Theater systems - are you considering a component system like Onkyo / Yamaha or a normal one like sony / samsung... My recommendation would be to go for a component system - the lens on the DVD has a fixed life, so after 2 to 3 years, it invariably goes off. Better to buy DVD player which you can buy for 3-4K and attach it to a component system.

The other advantage of a component system is that even if there is an upgrade of technology, you don't need to upgrade the entire set - you can just move on by upgrading the player alone.

In terms of which Component system you should go for, I would recommend you something that supports HDMI and HDMI pass-through - Considering that everything will shift to HDMI in future !!

I know Yamaha doesn't have anything with HDMI in it - This is based on the sets I know of. Onkyo has HDMI passthrough in HT-S5100 and HT-S6500 - In addition, both these sets are 7.1 channel systems - so, they are extremely futuristic - the only thing is they are big!!

Pioneer has started entering the market recently and they have launched their component systems - I have seen a couple of models which are both 5.1 systems - Couldn't make much out of it as both were demo pieces and we discussed demo pieces (They are generally on drugs) 

The budget stated by you is lesser for the Component systems - at the best you can get some entry level COmponent systems of Onkyo and Yamaha - But, they are no fun - They are as good as normal ones. The Onkyo 7.1 series, Pioneer models are costing in the range of 30K to 40K. Donno the exact cost of HT-S6500 as it is a recent launch.

I personally own a Onkyo HT-S5100 and I am extremely happy with it. My set-up at home is as below:

Panasonic 42PV8D HD ready 42" plasma, Phillips DVD player with upgrade to Full HD - connected by HDMI directly to TV for HD Video (Set at 720p even though it is capable of 1080p as my TV is 720p. Setting it to 1080p would mean two processing steps and more damage to the image). DVD player connected to Onkyo HT-S5100 digitally by a single Co-axial cable. Onkyo system set to Dolby Digital EX - this one expands the surround from 5.1 to 7.1 and works grt.

Regards,

K Prasad

In addition, as far as plasmas go by, there is nothing that beats the quality of the panel of a Panasonic. Samsung comes a close second and LG a distant third.

This is the way things are - Samsung and LG have a lot of expertise in terms of LCD screens and their LCD screens are definetely of very good quality.

As far as Plasmas go, only Panasonic is the company as of today that has 100% plasmas and not a single LCD for anything beyond 40" - They have invested and literally nurtured the plasma technology.

One of the reason why you might mot like the Panasonic is because of the form factor and the bulky looks of a panasonic - But they are built for a purpose than form factor. Japanese people always give looks a second preference over functionality -

Another thing irrespective of which ever plasma you buy is a Plasma needs to be "run-in" during the first 300 hours of usage - It is for some reason more prone to burning in the earlier stages - but after about 300 hours, it can take a fair amount of abuse - A Plasma is more like a Bullet - it needs a bit of love and care, but when it comes to performance, nothing can beat it.

Regards,

K Prasad